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Appeal for Donations to the Corpus of Sameeksha Trust

This is an appeal to the subscribers, contributors, advertisers and well-wishers of Economic and Political Weekly (EPW), published by Sameeksha Trust, a public charitable trust registered with the office of the Charity Commissioner, Mumbai, India. EPW has completed 50 years of publication. Details here.

﻿Taming of the Chief Ministers B M THE passing of a resolution by a majority vote at a conference of Chief Ministers is something which is simply not clone. That was at least the position till the other day when a conference of Chief Ministers convened by the Union Finance Minister to discuss the question of replacing sales tax by additional excise duties was held. But this wholesome and time-honoured tradition and convention, wholly in tune with the spirit and letter of the Indian constitution and necessary for conducting Centre-state relations on healthy lines and in the spirit of co-operation and not confrontation, was thrown to the winds with extraordinary arrogance and cynicism at this conference. The consequences of this can only be grave and far-reaching for the federal system and the polity. They transcend the rather limited question of replacing sales tax by excise duties or even the wider question of Centre-state financial relations.

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